Research and Teacher Education: The BERA-RSA inquiry. Policy and Practice within the United Kingdom.

Across the four jurisdictions of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) initial teacher education (ITE) is under active development, with its content, location, control and quality often the focuses of sustained debate. Statutory and professional requirements for the sector inevitably reflect differing assumptions about teaching, teacher knowledge and governance. In exploring ITE across the four jurisdictions, this paper reviews policies and practices through two major focuses: first, the relationships between the declared teacher standards (competencies/competences) and research-informed teacher education provision; second, the ‘turn or (re)turn to the practical’ in teacher education, including policy declarations, changes in practices, and emphases and effects of the discourse(s) of relevance

Sustained Attention, Not Procedural Learning, is a Predictor of Reading, Language and Arithmetic Skills in Children

The procedural deficit hypothesis claims that impaired procedural learning is a causal risk factor for developmental dyslexia and developmental language disorder. We investigated the relationships between measures of basic cognitive processes (declarative learning, procedural learning and attention) and measures of attainment (reading, grammar and arithmetic) in a large sample of 7- and 8-year-old children. A latent variable path model showed that verbal declarative memory skills predicted attainment but were not significantly related to attention. Procedural learning was only weakly related to measures of attainment and attention assessed during the procedural learning task accounted entirely for its relationship with measures of attainment. Our results challenge the procedural deficit hypothesis of reading and language disorders, but suggest that attentional skills (rather than procedural learning ability per se) may be an important predictor of reading, arithmetic and grammatical skills

Are differences in travel time or distance to healthcare for adults in global north countries associated with an impact on health outcomes? A systematic review

Objectives: To investigate whether there is an association between differences in travel time/ travel distance to healthcare services and patients’ health outcomes and assimilate the methodologies used to measure this. Design: Systematic Review. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Transport database, HMIC, and EBM-Reviews for studies up to 7th September 2016. Studies were excluded that included children (including maternity), emergency medical travel, or countries classed as being in the global south. Settings: A wide range of settings within primary and secondary care (these were not restricted in the search) Results: One hundred and eight studies met the inclusion criteria. The results were mixed. Seventy seven percent of the included studies identified evidence of a distance decay association, whereby patients living further away from healthcare facilities they needed to attend had worse health outcomes (e.g. survival rates, length of stay in hospital, non-attendance at follow-up) than those that lived closer. Six of the studies identified the reverse (a distance bias effect) whereby patients living at a greater distance had better health outcomes. The remaining 19 studies found no relationship. There was a large variation in the data available to the studies on the patients’ geographical locations and the healthcare facilities attended and the methods used to calculate travel times and distances were not consistent across studies. Conclusions: The review observed that a relationship between travelling further and having worse health outcomes cannot be ruled out and should be considered within the healthcare services location debate

Am I dyslexic? Parental self-report of literacy difficulties

In the absence of criteria for the diagnosis of dyslexia, considerable weight is given to self-report, in particular in studies of children at family risk of dyslexia. The present paper uses secondary data from a previous study to compare parents who self-report as dyslexic and those who do not, in relation to objectively determined levels of ability. In general, adults are more likely to self-report as 'dyslexic' if they have poorer reading and spelling skills and also if there is a discrepancy between IQ and measured literacy. However, parents of higher social status who have mild literacy difficulties are more likely to self-report as dyslexic than parents who have weaker literacy skills but are less socially advantaged. Together the findings suggest that the judgement as to whether or not a parent considers themselves 'dyslexic' is made relative to others in the same social sphere. Those who are socially disadvantaged may, in turn, be less likely to seek support for their children

Tablet PCs in schools: Case study report: A report for Becta by the Open University

The publication provides an analysis of twelve case studies involving schools in England that were using Tablet PCs. The analysis is complemented by brief individual reports describing aspects of how each of these schools was using Tablet PCs

The Home Literacy Environment as a Predictor of the Early Literacy Development of Children at Family-Risk of Dyslexia

The home literacy environment (HLE) predicts language and reading development in typically developing children; relatively little is known about its association with literacy development in children at family-risk of dyslexia. We assessed the HLE at age 4 years, precursor literacy skills at age 5, and literacy outcomes at age 6, in a sample of children at family-risk of dyslexia (n = 116) and children with no known risk (n = 72). Developmental relationships between the HLE and literacy were comparable between the groups; an additional effect of storybook exposure on phoneme awareness was observed in the family-risk group only. The effects of socioeconomic status on literacy were partially mediated by variations in the HLE; in turn, effects of the HLE on literacy were mediated by precursor skills (oral language, phoneme awareness, and emergent decoding) in both groups. Findings are discussed in terms of possible gene–environment correlation mechanisms underpinning atypical literacy development

The next generation: design and the infrastructure for learning in a mobile and networked world

Focusing on intermediate and institutional levels of design for learning, this chapter explores how institutional decisions relate to design, using recent experience at The Open University as a case study. To illuminate the relationship between institutional decisions and learner-focused design, we review and bring together some of the research on learner practices in mobile and networked learning. We take a critical stance in relation to the concept of generation, which has been applied to understanding learners of different ages using terms such as net generation and digital natives. Following on from this, we propose an integrated pedagogical design approach that takes account of learner practices, spaces for learning, and technologies. The chapter also proposes future research directions focused on the changing context for learning, a distinction between place and space and an understanding of how the different levels of educational systems interact with mobile and networked technologies

Smart devices or people? A mobile learning quandary

Mobile learning is an emerging paradigm in an unpredictable and shifting landscape of technological change. A technocentric focus is anathema to educators who prefer to believe that innovative pedagogy is the driving force behind educational developments. However, the proliferation of mobile devices may have an almost irresistible impact on teaching and learning. The focus of this article is on the concept of “smartness” in relation to mobile devices and people. As devices become smarter, their users are in danger of becoming less smart, or their agency may be at risk. Yet the key value of smart devices may be in how they can help develop essential skills and competencies in 21st-century learners—in particular, their self-direction—although this will not happen of its own accord

An optimised small-scale sample preparation workflow for historical dye analysis using UHPLC-PDA applied to Scottish and English Renaissance embroidery

A sample preparation workflow for historical dye analysis based on 96 well plates and filtration by centrifugation was developed. It requires less sample and the introduced error is decreased, making it useful for culturally important objects. A sample preparation workflow for historical dye analysis requiring less sample has been developed. Samples as small as 0.01 ± 0.005 mg have been successfully analysed and high percentage recoveries (>85%), more automation and shorter preparation time have been achieved using filtration by centrifugation and only one manual transfer. The optimised workflow based on 96 well plates together with the shorter UHPLC method developed makes dye analysis data collection faster from unprocessed sample to result, facilitating the creation of larger datasets and application of chemometric approaches. The method was evaluated on 85 samples from 12 dye sources (RSD < 5.1%, = 5) as well as 22 samples from a 17 century embroidered stomacher from the National Museums Scotland (NMS) collection